The present invention relates to tobacco, and in particular to a process for changing the character of a tobacco material.
Popular smoking articles, such as cigarettes, have a substantially cylindrical rod shaped structure and include a charge of smokable material, such as shreds or strands of tobacco material (i.e., in cut filler form), surrounded by a paper wrapper, thereby forming a tobacco rod. It has become desirable to manufacture a cigarette having a cylindrical filter element aligned in an end-to-end relationship with the tobacco rod. Typically, a filter element includes cellulose acetate tow circumscribed by plug wrap, and is attached to the tobacco rod using a circumscribing tipping material.
Tobacco undergoes various processing steps prior to the time that it is used for cigarette manufacture. Oftentimes, tobacco is chemically or physically treated to modify its flavor and smoking characteristics. In certain circumstances, it may be desirable to selectively remove components, such as nicotine, from tobacco. Various processes directed toward removing nicotine from tobacco have been proposed. Many of such types of processes are discussed in European Patent Application No. 280817 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,375 to Denier, et al. Another process for removing nicotine from tobacco is described in European Patent Application No. 323699. Processes for altering the character of tobacco materials (e.g., tobacco cut filler) are proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,812 to Fagg, et al. and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 484,587, filed Feb. 23, 1990, which are incorporated herein by reference.
It would be desirable to provide a process for efficiently and effectively altering the chemical nature or composition of tobacco, and in particular to provide a process for removing selected components from a tobacco material and/or adding selected substances to a tobacco material. It also would be desired to provide processes for extracting a tobacco material using a liquid extraction solvent so as to provide (i) an extracted tobacco material having a relatively high level of extractables removed therefrom, and (ii) a tobacco extract within solvent at a relatively high level of dissolved tobacco solids.